The present invention generally relates to tape fast-forwarding and rewinding apparatuses in magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatuses, and more particularly to a tape fast-forwarding and rewinding apparatus which is capable of fast-forwarding and rewinding a tape at especially high speed, to perform the tape fast-forwarding and rewinding operations within a short period of time.
Generally, in a cassette tape recorder, the fast-forwarding and rewinding of the cassette tape is performed in which a reel positively takes up the tape, by directly driving and rotating a tape take-up side reel or a tape supply side reel in a state where a pinch roller is separated from a capstan. In the above case, the fast-forwarding and rewneding operations are performed by feeding the tape in a positive direction or a reverse direction at a speed which is faster that the normal travelling speed of the tape when the tape is travelled by the capstan and the pinch roller upon recording and reproduction.
However, both ends of the cassette tape are respectively fixed to a pair of reel hubs through lead tapes. At a point where the tape fast-forwarding or rewinding operation is completed and all the tape is taken up by the supply side reel hub or the take-up side reel hub, a rotational driving force is still being applied to the reel hub of the above pair of reel hubs which has taken up the tape. However, since the one end of the tape is fixed to the reel hub which feeds the tape, the movement of the tape is forcibly stopped, and the tape fast-forwarding or rewinding operation is terminated. Moreover, since the travelling of the tape is abruptly stopped, an abrupt tension is applied to the tape.
Thus, conventionally, the tape travelling speed upon fast-forwarding and rewinding operations were selected so that the tape or the lead tape is not cut due to the abrupt tension applied to the tape, and so that the lead tape does not come off from the reel hub, upon the above described abrupt stopping of the tape. Accordingly, the tape travelling speed upon fast-forwarding and rewinding operations can be set higher than the normal travelling speed of the tape, however, the above tape travelling speed cannot be set to an excessively high speed. Therefore, there was a disadvantage in that a considerable time was required to take up and wind all the tape on one reel hub in a state where all the tape is taken up and wound on the other reel hub. Hence, in a case where a radio program is to be recorded, for example, there was a disadvantage in that the beginning portion of the radio program cannot be recorded when the tape must be travelled by fast-forwarding or rewinding to a desired position on the tape (for a duration of one minute or more, for example), since the radio program will have started by the time the tape fast-forwarding or rewinding operation is completed. On the other hand, when the rotational speed of the reel hub is simply increased in order to increase the tape travelling speed, the tape can be cut or the tape can be disconnected from the reel hub as described above, although the time required to perform these tape fast-forwarding and rewinding operations can be reduced.